Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities Sector

Abstract

Prevention through Design (PtD) is a core element of injury prevention. This report on PtD as it applies to the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector was offered at a recent PtD workshop hosted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and held in July 2007. Occupations within the transportation, warehousing and utilities industry account for 5% of U.S. workers and 15% of workplace fatalities. Workers in these industries also are at risk of injury or illness for accidents, overexertion, electrocution, vehicle emissions and falls. Members of a workgroup representing these industries identified several needs for increasing the use of PtD. First, there is a need to involve users (i.e., workers) during the initial planning process as well as throughout the development and use of PtD initiatives. Second, to incorporate PtD, NIOSH needs to collaborate with groups such as associations, schools, companies, unions and the public sector. Finally, NIOSH and its partners need to develop a business case to convince companies of the value of PtD.